KUA AINA Hawaii Burger & Sandwich — Restaurant in New Taipei

Kua’ Aina Burger is not your average burger chain.

It originated in Haleiwa, Hawaii in 1975 and currently has 3 shops in Hawaii, 2 in London and an astonishing total of 23 in Japan. It came to Taiwan by way of Japan, as Mitsui Outlet is a Japanese outfit with lots of Japanese restaurants.

The burgers are huge with lots of fresh veggies, and the fries mini, so-called shoestring fries.

We had the Mozzarella Bacon and the Avocado Mozzarella burger on a Sunday morning in March, and both tasted great. Loved the natural and fresh taste.

Some people might be put off by the fact that not much sauce or flavoring is added, so if you like spicy stuff, the burgers might taste bland to you. The shoestring fries were fresh and tasty as well, and not overly salted.

So if you like your burgers natural and fresh-tasting, you have found the right place. In any case, you will not walk away hungry from Kua’ Aina. And if you don't overly care for the Japanese food at Mitsui Outlet, this is the place for you.

Price tag for the burgers TWD330-350. Small outdoor seating...

What surprised me about this restaurant was the lack of a line or wait on a Friday night during prime dinner time hours. This is a chain restaurant but the food is pretty good. The staff was friendly and tried very hard to accommodate English. The menu is in English and Chinese and is complete with pictures. The set meals are a very good deal and drinks are refillable for free, which was unexpected but very nice. My son loved the chicken nuggets. They were not greasy and made from all white meat. However, the popcorn chicken bites weren't as good. Everything was delicious and served by friendly staff to our table. The best part of this experience was how we were treated. My son is young, makes messes and cries loudly. None of these seemed to be an issue for the staff at this restaurant. Well worth the...

A year or two ago, I posted a fairly raving review about this restaurant. I still think they have some of the best burgers in Linkou, especially their pineapple burger which I am crazy about. However, on February 28, 2022, I made a rather large order; in addition to our family, we had a guest visiting from Taizhong. The Uber Eats delivery was on time, but the fries were stone cold and TWO of the five drinks we ordered were MISSING. The drinks were not labeled in a way that we could tell what they were, so we had to guess. Tasting everyone's drinks when you have a guest over is not very kosher. I was very disappointed by this service. I am usually pleased with Kua Aina's food, but this time, they did not satisfy a previously...